I cook, I eat, I blog.

Pan-Seared Cross Rib Steak

Cross rib steaks are great for a budget friendly carnivore. It is a shoulder steak and therefore would greatly benefit from a slow cooking method, I just did not have time to baby this hunk of flesh. This steak was about an inch thick and weighed in at 1.11 pounds. At $4.99/lb, it is a definite bargain compared to a ribeye or NY strip.

I coated mine with my famous coffee rub and let it sit and absorb some of the great flavor in the refrigerator for a couple hours. Since the weather was not cooperating for me to fire up the grill I opted for a pan-sear. I pulled the steak out to let it set at room temperature for about half an hour. Then got the triple plated bottomed stainless steel pan preheated and added a little vegetable oil to it. In goes the steak (and the roomie’s pork chop). I sear on first side for about 7 minutes then on the second side for about the same.

I love the crust you get from pan-searing. Nice, browned outside coating with a juicy and tender (hopefully medium rare) inside. When you cook meat it is important to let it rest for a period of time after cooking so the juices can settle down and redistribute throughout the meat. It will also continue to cook just a little bit. If you cut into a steak immediately after cooking you will have all of the juices running out. So after about ten minutes it was time for grub.

This one was about perfect, a little more towards medium though. The flavor was great and it was tender for the most park with the exception of a few bites that were more like really good beef flavored bubble gum. Next time I will make sure I have time and try searing it the same then braising in some beer and stock or maybe just throw it on the smoker for a couple hours.